Maitlynn Mossolle's Portfolio

            As secretary of my senior class there was a lot of teamwork and communication necessary for everything to run smoothly.  You have to be calm, collected, and be willing to speak up at meetings and allow your voice to be heard.  One thing I pride myself on is being able to do exactly that.  Whenever we have meetings and plan things, I always make sure to express my ideas and point of view but in a way that does not seem bossy, but in a way that shows I am a team player.  For example, when we were planning the Freshman Welcome Night/ Fall Kickoff, we all pitched in ideas and came up with a way to make the night a total success.  One of the things that I expressed as an idea was to give the upcoming freshmen tours of the school.  I spoke from experience when I said that when I was a freshman, I had no idea where I was going, so it would be nice if we explained those sorts of things to them. 

            Another thing that came with being on student council was stepping up and being a leader.  As a member of student council, you are looked to by the entire class to get information and even looked to by the class advisors.  At meetings the secretary is to write down everything that was discussed at the meeting, then email and convey it to the advisors and classmates.  With my writing and photography skills, not only do I serve as a leader in getting information out to my fellow class of 2014 mates, I also have developed a leadership role in becoming sort of the “class photographer.” I take pictures at big events such as powder puff and pep assemblies, then share them with the class, parents, and even the yearbook. 

            In the professional world of journalism, I am going to need to express my point of view with my group of fellow journalists or editors when discussing topics and layouts of the paper.  If I do not know how to express my point of view I will never be fully happy with how something turns out but will have no room to fret about it because I did not pitch in.  Employers look for people who can freely speak their minds and want others’ opinions which I pride myself on being able to do.  Another thing is that I will need to serve as a leader in my own special areas because sometimes journalism is a lonely field and if I am not an expert or a leader in a specific area, I may lose out on writing or job opportunities because I cannot lead myself or others.

            In my personal life, I have the tendency to not speak my mind for fear that I will be rejected or that it will cause confrontation.  Student Council really opened me up in that aspect to be able to convey my opinions to my teammates and come together to make something great. Being able to lead in my own area of expertise helps in my personal life as well, as it rises other peoples’ confidence in me.  They know that they can trust me with anything because I have the strength and the skill set to lead without letting it get to my head.  I’ve become an expert in not only professional, but social things which is why a lot of people trust me with confidential information or even just to come to me for advice as I have been through certain similar situations as them before.  It is of the utmost importance in life to be able to speak your mind but do it in a respectful, leadership role, not just as rude and dictator-like.